lical, but in all the Parts of your Ecclefiaftical Conftitution a moft corrupt uncatholick Church. Do but follow our Example and reform, do but fet back your Church to what it was a thousand Years before the Council of Trent; and then of a real Church which you are, and for whofe Reformation I daily pray, you will recommence a right and true Church.

III. FROM your Proofs I pafs to your Confequences, [which you fay are of great Importance, but which can be of no greater Importance than your Proofs; and therefore your Proofs being fo plainly difproved, your Confequences from them can be of no Importance at all, though you introduce them with great fhew to raife Expectation, in your Thirteenth Paragraph. Thus, fay you, have I proved, that according to their Principles. the Roman Catholick Church was not a Church of Chrift, when they pretended to reform it. To which I anfwer without any Thus, that you have tricked, and fhamefully trifled and wasted your Ink and Paper, and proved nothing at all. But let us go on: It follows, firft, that no Proteftant Church could reform it, no more than one can wash a Face that hath no Being. But I have proved it had a Being, and having a Being it did reform it felf, as a floven may wafh his own dirty Face. Then it follows; So that they are not a reformed Religion, but abfolutely a New Religion, i. e. a falfe Religion; for it is evident, their Religion is new, if it was not reformed. But I have fhewn that it is not a new, but a renewed and reformed Religion, which retains the pure, and rejected all the impure Additions which you still keep: What our Church hath now, it had before it reformed it felf, though it hath not all that it had, because it had much more that it ought to have M

had

had. You know the Church is often taken fynecdochically for the Clergy; and the Clergy of the Church of England reformed themfelves, and the Doctrine, Worship, and Polity of their Church. They fifted the Popish Chaff from the Primitive. Wheat, the Drofs and bafer Mixtures from the pure Metal. They retained that which while they were a corrupt Popifh, made them a real Church; and by throwing off all the Popish Errors, Innovations, Abuses and Corruptions, they recommenced a true pure Catholick Church. To heal a Sore (faith an ingenious Gentleman of our Church) to purge a fick and difeafed Body, is not to make a new Body, but to renew it and reftore it to its former Health. Let me give you but one familiar Example of your own in this latter Age: St. Francis eftablished the Order of Francifcans; and they, according to the meaning of their firft Founder, did for a long Time follow the Inftitution of their firft Orders: Afterwards, when certain Errors and Corruptions bad crept in among them, Some Separated themselves from the reft, and were called the Recollects. Upon this Occafion a Suit was commenced, to decide whether the Recollects or the other Francifcans did adhere to the true Order of St. Francis. After Examination and Deliberation had, the Recollects were found to adhere to the ancient Inftitutions of their Order; and thereupon Fudgment was published on their behalf, and they were afterwards called the Reformed Francifcans. Such (faith he) is the State of the Reformed Churches at this Day: The true Church was first planted and established by Chrift and bis Apoftles, which continued found

7

Sir Humphrey Lynde in the Preface to his Via Devia.

in Head and Members for many Ages; but of terwards, when Error and Superftition had crept in and gotten the upper-band, there were certain Recollects, who complained of the Corrupti ons and Errors, which had sprung up in the Roman Church. Whereupon, after mature Deliberation had of the true Doctrine of Chrift and his Apofiles, Publication was made in behalf of the Recollects, that they were found to adhere to the Inftitutions of Chrift and his Apoftles and from that Time, they were called the Reformed Churches.

CHAP. IX.

NOW proceed to your Fourteenth Paragraph, in which with a Prefumption common to all your Curial Doctors, you fpeak of Rome Chriftian as URBS ETERNA, in arrogating to her the Promifes of perpetual Duration. It follows, (fay you) 3dly, That the Roman Catholick Church is the true Church: For fome Church must be the true Church of Chrift; and it can be none, to whom the Promifes of Indefectibility or perpetual Duration have not been made good: But thefe Promifes have not been made. good to any but the Roman Catholick Church and bave evidently fail'd all Proteftants for the space

900 or 1000 Years: Therefore the Roman Ca tholick Church is the true Church of Chrift. Sis, this Paragraph is refolvable into two plain cate gorical Syllogifms, whereof this is the firft. Some one Church must be the true Church of Chrift; But no Church but the Roman Catholick Church is

that one true Church: Therefore the Roman Catholick Church must be the true Church of Chrift. Let us examine each of the Premiffes of this Syllogifm in order: Some one Church must be the true Church of Chrift. To which I answer, that the true Church of Chrift is taken either in the general Signification, for the one holy Catholick Church of all the Faithful difperfed over the Earth, of which Chrift alone is the Head; or in the particular Signification for this or that particular Church, which in fome part or other of the Earth is a Member of the one holy Catholick Church. In the former Signification, in which you [ftill abufively] take it, this Propofition is not only falfe, but a Contradiction; because fome Church, that is, fome one particular Church cannot be the whole Church of Chrift: For if it is the whole Church, it cannot be fome one Church, as I have fhewed above. The fecond or minor Propofition is this; But no Church but the Roman Catholick Church is that one true Church: Which is falfe; because, as I have proved above, it is neither the true Church nor a true Church of Chrift, as true fignifies found, pure, or truly Ca-.. tholick in a moral Senfe: And therefore your Conclufion is falfe, which is this, Therefore the Roman (mifcalled) Catholick Church must be the true Church of Chrift.

II. THE fecond Syllogifm, by which you prove the minor Propofition, is this; No Church, to which the Promifes of Indefectibility or perpetual Duration have not been made good, is the true Church of Chrift: But thofe Promifes have not been made good to any but the Roman Catholick Church: Therefore the Roman Catholick Church is the true Church of Chrift. Sir, the truth and certainty of this Con

clufion

clufion ought to be made out from moft fure and evident Principles, if you would convince any of us, who are not Members of your Church: "But the Principles from which you go about to prove it, are neither fure nor true; and fo far from having any Evidence of Truth and Certainty, that they are clearly falfe. I'll begin with the major Propofition: No Church, to which the Promifes of Indefectibility or perpetual Duration have not been made good, is the true Church of Chrift. No Church, i. e, no one Church, to which the Promifes of Indefectibility and perpetual Duration, &c. Here, Sir, after your ufual manner, you fuppofe what is not true, take for granted what we never granted to you, and fhamefully lay it down as a Principle without any previous Proof, that there is fome one particular Church above all others, to which Chrift made the Promifes of In defe&ibility or perpetual Duration. Before you made this Propofition a Premife to infer fuch a Conclufion, you ought to have made good Proof of it; but instead of proving it, you doughtily fuppofe it to be true: And a bold Suppofition in a Guide, who is himself fuppofed not capable to deceive, will pafs for an Argument with fuch eafie Profelytes, as give up themselves to his Conduct. But, Sir, I challenge you to prove this Propofition and if you can make clear and fubftantial Proof of it, I will furrender my felf; and be your Profelyte; and you fhall fend me, as the Roman General did Caratacus, to be led in Triumph at Rome. In the mean time, I beseech you to tell me, if the Churches of Sardis, Pergamus, and Thyatira, the Perfian, the African Churches, were not true Churches in their Time; and yet you will not fay, the Promifes of perpetual Duration were made to them: You will not fay it, because in your mi

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nor